Glossary Term – Event

Most of General Lee’s army of 75,000 reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 1. Most of the 90,000-man Union army of General George Meade arrived at Gettysburg that same evening. On July 2, Lee tried to attack Union positions from the left and right flanks, but Union troops repelled the attack. The next day, the Union army, which expected Lee to attack again on the flanks, reinforced its flanks. But Lee launched a frontal attack on the center of the Union lines, which came as a shock and a surprise. Some 15,000 Confederate...

Glossary Term – Person

Joseph Hooker (1814–1879) was a Union general and commander of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Hooker was appointed a brigadier general after the First Battle of Bull Run and took part in the major eastern campaigns of 1862. After the Union defeat at Fredericksburg, Lincoln appointed Hooker commander of the Army of the Potomac to replace General Ambrose Burnside. Hooker successfully reorganized the army, but he was an ineffectual commander. He was badly defeated by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of...

Multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia

Historian Matthew Pinsker leads a virtual teacher’s tour of the Battle of Gettysburg, highlighting key moments and individuals to illustrate the broad story of the battle, its implications for the Civil War, and its legacy in American history.